2 men accused of stealing iPhone after arranging to buy it on Craigslist

July 29, 2010|By Anika Myers Palm, Orlando Sentinel

Two men have been accused of stealing an iPhone one of them had arranged to buy on Craigslist, the Osceola County Sheriff's Office said.

Joshua Starnes, 20, and Stephen Rudolphe, 23, both of Orlando, met a man at The Loop shopping center on North John Young Parkway near Kissimmee on Tuesday before 10 p.m. The man told deputies that he had arranged via the Internet to sell his iPhone.

The man met Starnes near a store at The Loop, but instead of giving the man money, Starnes took the phone and ran to a nearby vehicle. When the man chased Starnes and retrieved the phone, Rudolphe, who had been in the vehicle, began to beat the man.

Rudolphe took the phone and fled with Starnes in the vehicle, according to the sheriff's office.

Osceola detectives arrested Rudolphe in Orange County on Wednesday. He was booked into the Orange County Jail. They arrested Starnes Thursday and took him to the Osceola County Jail.

The two face charges of robbery by sudden snatching, battery and grand theft.